The District’s Office of Curriculum & Instruction partnered with the South Orangetown PTAs to host a K-12 Curriculum Night on Tuesday at Tappan Zee High School. The presentation focused on a curriculum overview, related resources for parents and information about how families can support their children at home. A series of clips from our Teachers College Reading & Writing, K-12 Robotics and Welcome to the 2021-22 School Year videos also gave attendees a glimpse inside our classrooms.
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Brian Culot, Ed.D. discussed guiding principles for curriculum development and the process the District uses to “cross-walk” new State standards and frameworks for adoption. He explained the characteristics of a culturally-responsive classroom. “Classroom discussion gives students important learning opportunities. Kids come to school wanting to talk about what is on their minds. It may be something they’ve seen in the media or on social media or a topic that has come up at home or that they’ve encountered elsewhere. A culturally-responsive classroom empowers all students to share their thoughts, to feel valued and a part of their community, to be respected and to respect others who may have different viewpoints,” said Culot.
The New York State K-12 Social-Emotional Learning Benchmarks and K-12 Mental Health Benchmarks were presented by Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services Karen Tesik, Ed.D. Tesik reviewed key goals and how they are embedded in the work of the school support teams, as well as character education and health programming. “We always put social emotional learning and the mental health of our kids at the forefront. Building relationships in our learning spaces is critical to our school community,” Tesik noted.
For the Q&A portion of the evening, District and school leaders responded individually to the nearly 50 questions submitted by families and community members leading up to the event and described efforts to identify and address pandemic-related learning gaps and loss.
Administrators were encouraged by the strong turnout. “It was so nice to see our entire school community come together to learn more about our district’s curriculum and programs. We look forward to our continued partnership with students, staff, and parents to keep our district at the forefront of implementing best practices in teaching and learning,” stated Culot.
View the presentation slide show here.
K-12 Curriculum Night was the first of many curriculum-related events throughout the school year. Following are dates for upcoming events; please check the District and school Google calendars for the most up-to-date information:
October 19: K-5 Family Science Night
November 1 & 5: SOMS Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 4-5: TZHS Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 17: K-5 Family Technology Night
December 1: NCAA Eligibility & Recruiting Seminar
December 1: TZHS Counseling Workshop for Sophomore Parents
December 9: WOS & CLE Parent-Teacher Conferences
January 15: K-5 Family Wellness Night
January 27: TZHS Grade 8 to Grade 9 Orientation
February 17: Incoming Kindergarten Parent Orientation
March 8: SOCSD School Maker Faire (K-12)
March 15: K-5 Family Math Night
April 6: SOMS Incoming Grade 6 Parent/Student Orientation
May 18: K-5 Family Literacy Night
TBD: CLE Incoming Grade 3 Parent Orientation
